Henry T. Wilde
Henry Tingle Wilde (born September 21, 1872 in Walton, Liverpool , England , † April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic when the Titanic sank) was a British seaman and chief officer of the Titanic .
Life
Wilde, who lost his wife and twin sons to illness in 1910, worked for the White Star Line from 1897 . There he served on the Arabic , the Celtic , the Medic and the Cymric, among others . Captain Edward John Smith brought him on board as chief officer due to Wilde's experiences on the Olympic shortly before the Titanic left the ship. As a result, two other officers of the Titanic were downgraded by one rank: William M. Murdoch had to give way to the position of first officer as the previous chief officer, the previous first officer Charles Lightoller took the rank of second officer. David Blair, originally intended as the second officer, left the ship entirely. There has been much speculation about Smith's decision: it is possible that Smith did not want to do without the shipping company's most experienced officer with the Olympic- class ships . The particularly acute risk of ice in April 1912 may have played a role, which is of particular interest in view of the later catastrophe. Since Wilde was indirectly responsible for the downgrading of the other nautical officers of the Titanic , the relationship between him and his colleagues should have been relatively tense. Since the reshuffle took place at such short notice, some crew members spoke of William Murdoch as chief officer during the interrogation after the disaster. In a letter to his sister shortly before leaving, Henry Wilde wrote:
- I still don't like this ship. I've got a queer feeling about it. ("I still don't like this ship [the Titanic]. I have a strange feeling about it.")
Little is known about his final hours. At the time of the collision with the iceberg, on April 14 at 11:40 p.m., Wilde was off duty. After realizing the gravity of the situation, he was one of the first to insist on lowering the lifeboats and was busy overseeing the loading of the boats himself until the end. However, he refused to get into one himself, although a crew member should always go with him. Wilde initially interpreted the rule of women and children very strictly, but it still succeeded. a. Bruce Ismay , the director of the White Star Line, to jump into one of the lifeboats that Wilde celebrated. Wilde insisted that the other officers arm themselves, as he suspected that there would be a riot when the last lifeboats were occupied. He was last seen trying to lower emergency boats A and B into the water. However, it was reported by some survivors that Wilde died of suicide shortly before the ship sank at 2:20 a.m. However, this is not considered certain. His body was never found.
In the 1997 film adaptation of the Titanic , the role of Wilde was cast with Mark Lindsay Chapman .
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilde, Henry T. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wilde, Henry Tingle |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British naval officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 21, 1872 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Walton, Liverpool , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 15, 1912 |
| Place of death | North Atlantic when the Titanic sank |